DELL RECOVERS IN PLAYOFF

BRUCE BERLET; Courant Staff WriterTHE HARTFORD COURANT

Shock. Laughter. Anger.

A quadruple-bogey 9 that helped wipe out a five-stroke lead with three holes to go had Dave Dell running the gamut of emotions Tuesday in the Connecticut Section PGA Club Pro Championship at The Ranch Golf Club.

And that was before he missed a 2 1/2-foot par putt on the final hole.

Dell erased the feelings of an hour earlier on the first playoff hole, the 490-yard first. The head pro at Green Woods Country Club in Winsted hit a 205-yard, 7-iron shot out of the rough and onto the green and made a 10-foot putt for eagle 3 to beat Greg Yeomans and Mike Gramelis and win the tournament for the first time.

"Man, did that feel super," Dell said. "One minute I was laughing I had made a 9, then all of a sudden when I realized I was tied for the lead, I was steaming mad because I felt I was playing too good to let anything like that happen.

"But I couldn't wait to get to the playoff because I wanted to make amends and show I can play well under pressure. I wanted to somehow finish strong, and I'm almost glad it went into a playoff because it gave me the opportunity to win and not limp in for the title."

Dell, who won the section Tournament of Champions in May, shot a 4-over-par 76 for a 36-hole total of 142 and a tie with Yeomans and Gramelis, who each shot 73. Dell seemed on cruise control after he opened with two birdies after closing with five Monday for a course-record 66. Standing at the 16th tee, he was 2 under for the day, 8 under for the tournament and five ahead of Yeomans. Then he hit his drive right into the trees.

When Dell couldn't find his ball, he returned to the tee and hit a second drive onto the fairway. But he hooked a 4-iron into a pond, hit his sixth shot over the green, chipped on and two-putted for 9. Meanwhile, Yeomans two-putted for birdie 4, and they were tied at 3 under.

"I figured the worst that could happen was I'd make 6 or 7," Dell said. "I never thought I'd make 9."

Gramelis birdied the 17th to get to 2 under, then found himself headed for a playoff after Dell and Yeomans each bogeyed 18.

But Dell converted when it mattered most, seconds after Yeomans lipped out a 50-foot eagle bid.

"It looked good about five feet away, but stayed just right," Yeomans said. "But I'm excited because on the 16th tee I was just thinking about trying to qualify [for the regionals]."

Those who shot 147 or lower qualified for the Eastern Regional CPC Sept. 26-29 at Shenendoah GC in Verona, N.Y.